The Scotland Yard Files/150 Years of the C.I.D. 1842-1992

by Paul Begg, Keith Skinner

As the ingenuity of criminals has developed over time, so have the techniques for catching them. The murderer Dr. Crippen's attempted getaway was foiled by the first use of radio at sea, and fingerprint evidence first secured a conviction as far back as 1902. Keith Skinner, a leading crime historian, and Alan Moss, a former Chief Superintendent, have trawled through the archives and selected twelve such fascinating 'firsts' from the history of the world-famous Scotland Yard - including the first 'wanted' picture in the press, the first successful use of identification parades, and the first conviction based on ballistics evidence. A lively narrative is supported by many previously unpublished images and documents from the Scotland Yard files at London's National Archives.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Historical

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 11, 1992

About the author

Paul Begg is acknowledged worldwide as one of the leading authorities on the Jack the Ripper mystery. He has worked in newspapers, television and publishing. He has written extensively on Jack the Ripper, including Jack the Ripper: The Uncensored Facts, Jack the Ripper: The Definitive History and Jack the Ripper: The Facts. He is also the author of Into Thin Air, The Scotland Yard Files and Mary Celeste: The Greatest Mystery of the Sea. Paul was formerly the editor of the Ripperologist magazine and has appeared as an historical advisor on several television programmes.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book briefly talked about the Bow Street Runners and the origins of the Metro police force. Much of the book was summaries of various cases from 1842 to 1992 that were noteworthy in some way, like they had a lot of publicity or lead to a change in the law or how the police operated. These included periodic cases of police corruption. He covered various changes made in how the detective section was structured and who was in charge but also included some information about technological and social changes that impacted what equipment the police used. Frankly, I was more interested in details about the police than the sections about the politics of who was in charge. True crime fans might enjoy seeing the changing types of crime reflected in the cases he talked about.

[Mark Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

At times the author did a good job of giving the big picture about society; trends, attitudes, public morality. The details about about police methods and technology were scanty. Most of time do we really care that police commissioner so and so took over after commissioner so and so and was political appointee?

[Cally73 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting look at the formation and development of Scotland Yard.